Scan barcode
A review by tomleetang
Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi
3.0
The attraction of this novel is largely limited to the fact that it offers a fascinating glimpse into modern Omani society - or, as the blurb on the back so eloquently puts it, "poetic insight into a society in transition and into lives previously obscured."
Celestial Bodies is an exploration of Oman's past as seen through the eyes of Abdallah and the women who spin around him. Are they in his orbit or he in theirs? I'm inclined to think the former, considering the patriarchal nature of the society, as well as the fact that it is Abdallah's story, shot through with physical and mental abuse and the burdens placed upon him by his father, that link the disparate episodes together.
The non-linear narrative is like the spinning of the planets, revealing new mental contours and remembered landscapes as it revolves, uncovering historical wounds, fractured families and the vagaries of love (whatever 'love' may mean, the author leaves the definition open). It's a meditation on memory, cyclically returning to remind us of the past. And, as the final few chapters show, we can never forget that past.
Celestial Bodies is an exploration of Oman's past as seen through the eyes of Abdallah and the women who spin around him. Are they in his orbit or he in theirs? I'm inclined to think the former, considering the patriarchal nature of the society, as well as the fact that it is Abdallah's story, shot through with physical and mental abuse and the burdens placed upon him by his father, that link the disparate episodes together.
The non-linear narrative is like the spinning of the planets, revealing new mental contours and remembered landscapes as it revolves, uncovering historical wounds, fractured families and the vagaries of love (whatever 'love' may mean, the author leaves the definition open). It's a meditation on memory, cyclically returning to remind us of the past. And, as the final few chapters show, we can never forget that past.